Drier and Slightly Cooler than Normal March across Eastern Kentucky

BOTH THE JACKSON WEATHER OFFICE AND THE LONDON CORBIN AIRPORTFINISHED LAST MONTH LESS THAN ONE DEGREE COOLER THAN NORMAL FORMARCH. THIS BROKE A STRING OF THREE MONTHS WITH ABOVE NORMALTEMPERATURES. DRIER THAN NORMAL CONDITIONS WERE ALSO EXPERIENCEDTHROUGH MARCH. LONDON WAS AROUND THREE QUARTERS OF AN INCH BELOWNORMAL...WHILE JACKSON FINISHED LAST MONTH NEAR A QUARTER OF AN INCHDRIER. MARCH WAS THE THIRD MONTH IN A ROW THAT LONDON AND JACKSONENDURED BELOW NORMAL PRECIPITATION. ALSO OF NOTE...EASTERN KENTUCKYSAW A LATE WINTER STORM BRING A COUPLE INCHES OF SNOW...FREEZINGRAIN...AND A RARE OCCURRENCE OF THUNDER SLEET TO THE COAL FIELDS ONTHE 7TH AND 8TH OF MARCH.

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE NEAR JACKSON FINISHED MARCH2008 WITH AN AVERAGE TEMPERATURE OF 46.4 DEGREES...WHICH IS 0.7DEGREES BELOW THE NORMAL OF 47.1 DEGREES. THE AVERAGE DAILY HIGH WAS56.8 DEGREES...AND THE AVERAGE DAILY LOW WAS 36.0 DEGREES. THEHIGHEST TEMPERATURE FOR MARCH 2008 WAS 73 DEGREES...WHICH OCCURREDON THE 3RD. THE LOWEST TEMPERATURE LAST MONTH WAS 16 DEGREES ANDOCCURRED ON THE 9TH. NO DAILY HIGH OR LOW TEMPERATURE RECORDS WERESET OR TIED AT JACKSON LAST MONTH. A MINIMUM HIGH TEMPERATURE RECORDWAS ESTABLISHED ON THE 23RD...WITH A READING OF 37 DEGREES.

THE JACKSON WEATHER OFFICE RECEIVED 4.14 INCHES OF PRECIPITATION INMARCH 2008...WHICH IS 0.24 INCHES BELOW THE NORMAL OF 4.38 INCHES.THERE WERE 12 DAYS WHEN A HUNDREDTH OF AN INCH OR MORE OFPRECIPITATION WAS RECORDED...AND EIGHT DAYS WHEN A TENTH OF AN INCHOR MORE FELL. THERE WERE THREE DAYS WHEN AT LEAST A HALF AN INCH OFRAIN WAS RECEIVED...AND ONE DAY SAW MORE THAN ONE INCH. THE DAY OFTHE 7TH NETTED 1.13 INCHES OF RAIN...WHICH WAS THE MOST RAINFALLLOGGED IN A SINGLE DAY LAST MONTH. THE GREATEST IN A 24 HOUR PERIODWAS 1.48 INCHES FROM THE 7TH THROUGH THE 8TH. NO DAILY PRECIPITATIONRECORDS WERE SET LAST MONTH. THROUGH THE END OF MARCH...THE JACKSONWEATHER OFFICE HAS RECEIVED 10.01 INCHES OF PRECIPITATION...WHICH IS1.61 INCHES BELOW NORMAL. JACKSON ALSO RECEIVED 2.9 INCHES OF SNOWIN MARCH. THIS BRINGS THE SNOW SEASON TOTAL TO 10.8 INCHES. JACKSONTYPICALLY RECEIVES 3.5 INCHES OF SNOW IN MARCH...AND AVERAGES ASEASONAL TOTAL OF 23.2 INCHES THROUGH THE END OF MARCH. THE DAY OFTHE 8TH...SAW JACKSON TOTAL 2.4 INCHES OF SNOW...WHICH WAS THEGREATEST DAILY TOTAL IN MARCH 2008...AND WAS ALSO THE ONLY DAY LASTMONTH THAT SAW OVER ONE INCH OF SNOWFALL. EVEN THOUGH THE 2.4 INCHESDID NOT SET A DAILY SNOWFALL RECORD...THE 0.4 INCHES ON THE 24THDID. ALSO OF NOTE...A TRACE OF SNOW ON THE 23RD TIED THE RECORD FORTHAT DAY.

THUNDER WAS HEARD FIVE TIMES LAST MONTH AT THE JACKSON WEATHEROFFICE...WHICH IS ABOVE THE AVERAGE FOR MARCH OF 2.9 DAYS. THEREWERE 15 DAYS WITH FOG...FIVE OF WHICH FEATURED DENSE FOG. MARCHNORMALLY AVERAGES 4.0 DAYS OF DENSE FOG. 13,147 MINUTES OF SUNSHINEWERE RECORDED LAST MONTH WHICH IS 59 PERCENT OF ALL POSSIBLESUNSHINE FOR THE MONTH. THE AVERAGE WIND SPEED FOR MARCH WAS 5.1MPH...AND THE HIGHEST WIND GUST OF 48 MPH WAS RECORDED ON MARCH 4TH.THE MEAN WIND SPEED FOR MARCH IS TYPICALLY 7.2 MPH. OF FURTHERINTEREST...JACKSON HAD TWO DAYS OF SLEET AND FREEZING RAIN.

571 HEATING DEGREE DAYS WERE RECORDED AT THE JACKSON WEATHER OFFICEIN MARCH...WHICH IS 14 HEATING DEGREE DAYS ABOVE NORMAL. THESEASONAL HEATING DEGREE DAY TOTAL IS NOW 3622...WHICH IS 325 HEATINGDEGREE DAYS BELOW NORMAL FOR THE SEASON. NO COOLING DEGREE DAYS WERERECORDED LAST MONTH...OR SO FAR THIS SEASON...WHICH IS NORMAL.

AT THE LONDON CORBIN AIRPORT...THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE WAS 46.6DEGREES...WHICH IS 0.5 DEGREES BELOW THE NORMAL OF 47.1 DEGREES FORMARCH. THE AVERAGE DAILY HIGH WAS 57.8 DEGREES...AND THE AVERAGEDAILY LOW WAS 35.4 DEGREES. THE HIGHEST TEMPERATURE FROM LAST MONTHWAS 73 DEGREES...WHICH OCCURRED ON THE 13TH. NO HIGH TEMPERATURERECORDS WERE TIED OR BROKEN AT LONDON LAST MONTH. THE LOWESTTEMPERATURE FROM MARCH 2008 WAS 12 DEGREES...AND OCCURRED ON THE9TH...AND SET A NEW DAILY LOW TEMPERATURE RECORD FOR THAT DAY.LONDON ALSO ESTABLISHED A NEW MINIMUM HIGH TEMPERATURE RECORD WITH AREADING OF 31 DEGREES ON THE 8TH.

THE LONDON CORBIN AIRPORT RECORDED 3.91 INCHES OF PRECIPITATION INMARCH 2008...WHICH IS 0.70 INCHES BELOW THE NORMAL OF 4.61 INCHES.THERE WERE 10 DAYS WHEN A HUNDREDTH OF AN INCH OR MORE FELL...ANDSEVEN DAYS WHEN A TENTH OF AN INCH OR MORE OF RAIN WAS RECORDED.LONDON HAD THREE DAYS WITH AT LEAST A HALF AN INCH...AND ONE DAYWHEN MORE THAN ONE INCH WAS RECEIVED. THE GREATEST DAILY AMOUNT WAS1.19 INCHES AND OCCURRED ON THE 4TH...WHICH WAS ALSO THE MOSTRECEIVED IN A 24 HOUR PERIOD FOR MARCH 2008...AND EVEN ESTABLISHED ANEW DAILY PRECIPITATION RECORD FOR THAT DAY. ONE PRECIPITATIONRECORD WAS TIED AT LONDON LAST MONTH...ON THE 19TH WITH 0.60 INCHES.SO FAR THIS YEAR...LONDON HAS RECEIVED 8.96 INCHES OFPRECIPITATION...WHICH IS 3.38 INCHES BELOW NORMAL. NO SNOWFALL DATAIS AVAILABLE FOR LONDON.

LONDON HAD FOUR DAYS WITH THUNDER LAST MONTH. ALSO...THERE WERE 17DAYS WITH FOG...AND ONE DAY WITH DENSE FOG. THE AVERAGE WIND SPEEDFOR MARCH 2008 WAS 6.7 MPH...WITH THE HIGHEST WIND GUST OF 41 MPHRECORDED ON THE 4TH.

LONDON RECORDED 560 HEATING DEGREE DAYS LAST MONTH...WHICH IS THREEHEATING DEGREE DAYS ABOVE NORMAL. THE SEASONAL TOTAL OF 3516 IS 434HEATING DEGREE DAYS BELOW NORMAL FOR THE SEASON. NO COOLING DEGREEDAYS WERE RECORDED AT THE LONDON CORBIN AIRPORT IN MARCH 2008...ORSO FAR THIS COOLING DEGREE DAY SEASON...WHICH IS TWO BELOW NORMALFOR THE MONTH AND SEASON.

WEATHER RECORDS AT THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE NEAR JACKSONKENTUCKY DATE BACK TO JANUARY 1ST 1981...WHILE CLIMATE RECORDS FORTHE LONDON CORBIN AIRPORT BEGAN ON THE 11TH OF NOVEMBER 1954.